About Lena Legal Services

We work in an interdisciplinary manner by practicing with an expansive approach that integrates various areas of law. When you come to Lena Legal Services, you will receive a comprehensive analysis of your situation through the perspectives of different areas of law to ensure that your interests are covered. We understand the power and the drawbacks of pursuing legal remedies and the desirability and benefits of non-legal solutions. We listen to your stated priorities and provide all available options in a language that is accessible.

We value your various relationships with people, organizations, communities, and non-humans (e.g. animals, land, and artistic creations) as much as we value our relationship with you. When you work with Lena Legal Services, we will ask you: What relationships matter to you in the situation? What are the possible future impacts on the relationships that matter to you? We will discuss your desired outcomes for those relationships and identify the best solution for your need.

As a survivor of violence, Gitanjali has learned from observing and experiencing healing work in different communities. As a team, we are aware of our triggers and will ask you how we can minimize activating yours in our work. We adjust our processes so as not to cause further harm. For example, how we ask interview questions, how we set up our work relationship, what our paperwork looks like, and what self-care for our team and clients looks like. Our approach balances respecting one's stored trauma and holding those who harm accountable with the goal of repairing and transforming harm. We acknowledge what we've learned from Metis lawyer Myrna McCallum through her podcast and the Trauma-Informed ToolKit for Legal Professionals

We are abolitionists, and we believe that harm-reduction strategies work wonders. We do not believe in punitive responses to mistakes nor in covering it up when harm is done. We encourage a transformative approach when providing solutions rather than a "return to normal." As a client, you will be aware of all possible liabilities, penalties, remedies, and concerns within your legal and social context. We are also knowledgeable about non-legal solutions and will always raise them when discussing options with clients.

We respect that our clients will choose what is best for them. We do not make decisions or undertake any actions without their permission. Our goal is to communicate with clients clearly and promptly so they make the best decision for their situation.

In 2020 Gitanjali completed the Movement Law Lab's Movement Lawyering course. In our practice, we take a path alternative to the conventional individualistic legal approach, which only focuses on personal wins. We consider what is ethical in the broader community and maintain relationships to keep us accountable to our own communities (2SLGBTQIA+, survivors of violence, clients, and the people our clients aim to serve).

It is important to us that our clients are not alienated by legal language. We can explain complex legal concepts in plain language without losing nuance. We ensure you know our opinion on the matter's merits, liability, issues, concerns, and gaps. At the end of a consultation, you should feel that you understand the legal issues and your options.

We encourage organizational decision-makers to build accountability into their organization's governance structures, and by this, we are referring to systemic changes beyond "diversifying" the Board of Directors. By creating equitable policies and contracts, we support institutions and communities to operate in the most ethical manner possible to achieve systemic and social change.

We are constantly in the process of learning from people with lived experience of resistance. We have benefitted from the generosity of Black and Indigenous community members, lawyers, scholars, consultants, paralegals, and activists. Team members regularly take legal, equity and practical skills-based courses that elevate the quality of our services. Last but not least, your constructive feedback as a client is received with humility.

Our methods for decolonizing our legal practice are constantly evolving as we learn what it means to do so while still working with Canadian settler laws derived from British common law. We consider the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's Calls to Action, particularly # 27-28, and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. We continue to draw upon the vast body of Indigenous legal scholarship by Patricia Monture-Angus, Arthur Manuel, Dr. Pamela Palmater, John Burrows, Tracey Lindberg, Angelique EagleWoman, Sharon Venne, Harry LaForme, Eve Tuck, and Senator Murray Sinclair.